One of Muhammad Ali’s first ever opponents disappeared and was never found

Jim Robinson fought Muhammad Ali back in 1961 but he has since disappeared and has never been found.

“Sweet Jimmy” Robinson was drafted in as a last-minute opponent for Ali’s fourth professional boxing bout. But the boxer’s whereabouts have been unknown since his last interview in 1979, and he’s never been heard from since.

Robinson was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1925 and was a middleweight and heavyweight boxer who fought across the United States in the 1960s – with his most famous bout against ‘The Greatest’ in 1961.

Ali, then still called Cassius Clay, was making his way in the boxing world when he was scheduled to fight Willie Gullatt in Miami Beach in February 1961. But Gullatt refused to fight after he claimed he was only offered $300 for the fight, compared to Ali’s $800.

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Gullatt, who was managed by Chris Dundee, the brother of Ali’s former training Angelo Dundee, failed to show up for the fight – seeing Dundee enlist Robinson to fight Ali instead.

Robinson showed up but his complete lack of preparation was obvious, weighing significantly lighter than Ali who won by knockout in the first round.

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Ali’s victory saw him extend his record to 4-0 – ending his career 20 years later as a former heavyweight champion and one of the most iconic figures throughout history.

Whereas Robinson ended his known boxing career in 1964 before coming out of retirement to fight Kent Green in 1968, who defeated Ali as an amateur, but “Sweet Jim” suffered another first round defeat and retired again with a professional record of 8-27.

Robinson’s last known whereabouts came in 1979 when he was tracked down in Miami and interviewed by Sports Illustrated.

In the interview, Robinson claimed he only weighed 158 pounds for the fight and his manager had pushed his finger down on the scales for the fighter to reach the 178 pound weight officially recorded.

ESPN attempted to track Robinson down and to uncover what had become of Ali’s former opponent in 2009 but the search was to no avail.

Robinson’s disappearance has also frustrated Ali collector Stephen Singer who has gathered autographs from 49 of Ali’s 50 opponents – with the mysterious “Sweet Jim” the only signature missing.

There has been no official account of what happened to Robinson following his interview in the 70s and with him believed to be 95 years old if he’s still alive today. The trail shows no sign of warming up again.